Back in 2011, Thailand was the world's largest exporter of
rice, accounting for 30% of the global market. Yingluck, who was
prime minister at the time, introduced a
scheme that would pay farmers a price 50% above current
market value for their rice.

The idea was concocted ahead of the July 2011 election,
which Yingluck ultimately won, and was designed to make Thai
farmers wealthier while also taking supply off of the global
market. In theory, Thailand would then able to sell the rice at a
higher price because there was less supply.

However, things didn't go according to plan. Prices didn't
rise as much as Thailand anticipated, and other big rice
producers like India and Vietnam saw this as an opportunity to
flood the market. Thailand was left with heaping rice inventories
and warehouses filled to the brim.